I have been involved in high tech, graphic arts, computer software and hardware design for more than 40 years.

I've been blogging about vaping since early 2009.

I work on advanced robot vision and software technology.

I own my own business.

I have set up this blog to talk about who I am, what I do, and to publish my opinions...

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Thursday, January 26, 2017

Pennsylvania & FDA: Pushing Vapers to Smoking...

(As I predicted in my submission to the FDA of August 14, 2014... The FDA is making smoking the "best" option when science has shown it is, in fact, the most dangerous...)

We recently received an email (note the underlined section):

"Hello ma'am, My name is ------. I have been a customer at your store for about a year. ... To support this store. Example I paid 10 dollars more just to have the XXXXXX when I could have got it cheaper online for 24 dollars. But my point is this. This store is the only one in the area. Including XXXXX, YYYYY and ZZZZZ don't carry XXXXXXXX vape oil. I have patiently waited for it to be restocked at the store. ...I do not like any other vape oil I have tried all of the others. ... But this is the only one I like. I have gone back to smoking cigarettes because I can not get the XXXXXXX oil. Please bring it back in. ...Thank you -------"

So this person has made the choice to smoke because federal and state regulations and taxes are restricting the market for vaping products which offers them, according to science, healthier choices.

The the end result of the Pennsylvania 40% tax on wholesale vaping products is to drive this poor person to either A) smoke "combustion" tobacco products or B) become a criminal in Pennsylvania for not paying the "use" tax on vaping products (much like buying cigarettes on-line).

(We had to pay 40% on our inventory in stock as of 10/1/2016 and 40% on everything thereafter.)

Of course, if we the shop keepers thought that we might still be in business after 2018 we might wish to put more money into our store (thanks, FDA).

SO the state of Pennsylvania and the US government are, by taxing us out of business (and believe me there used to be many shops in the areas X, Y and Z indicated above), promoting smoking of burning tobacco.